William link

Born on December 15, 1933 in suburban Philadelphia, while in high school he met Richard Levinson , destined to become his collaborator for many years. Both began writing short stories and radio scripts.

On television, William Link and Levinson were recruited to write scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and other hit series. Together they created Colombo, who in 1971 became one of the best-known television characters of all time. Both gave the direction of the first chapter to an unknown young man, Steven Spielberg , destined to succeed.

“Bill’s truly good nature always inspired me to do good work for a man who, along with Dick Levinson, was part of my particular film school,” Spielberg said in a statement. “Bill was one of my favorite and most patient teachers, and more than anything, I learned a lot from him about the true anatomy of a plot. My career took a huge leap when Bill and Dick trusted a young, inexperienced director to make the first film. episode of Colombo . That job helped convince the studio to let me do The Devil on Wheels, and it had a lot to do with everything that followed. I owe a lot to Bill.”

In the 1980s, the couple created another of the all-time great detective series, Murder She Wrote , starring Angela Lansbury . It spanned 12 seasons.

William Link is survived by his wife, Margery, and their children.